


Modern AUs

by Behind_The_Hood



Series: Captive Prince Tumblr Drabbles, Snippets, and Prompts [1]
Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Anal Sex, Auguste (Captive Prince) Lives, Coming Out, Fluff, Graphic Description, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, References to Friends (TV), Stripping, Violence, auguste dies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-04-23 01:18:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 17
Words: 9,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19140676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Behind_The_Hood/pseuds/Behind_The_Hood
Summary: A conglomeration of any Tumblr drabbles, snippets, and prompts that take place in a modern setting.





	1. Date (Damen/Laurent, Damen/Jokaste, Auguste/Jokaste)

Damen and Jokaste have been dating for a few years now. Damen sees Jokaste getting all dolled up and wearing a sexy red dress, but he knows they have no plans tonight. He asks her about it.

“I’ve got a date tonight,” she says as she puts in her earrings.

Damen…doesn’t know how to react to that.

“A date.” He reiterates. “You have…a date.”

“Yes Damen, that’s what I said.”

Jokaste kisses his cheek as she walks out the bedroom. Damen chases after her and catches her at the door.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What do you mean a date?”

She smiles, amusement shining in her eyes. “I’m seeing a coworker’s younger brother so he doesn’t have to explain to his parents that he’s gay. Nothing to worry about.”

She slips from his arms.

* * *

Damen learns a lot about Laurent after that. Auguste’s little brother. Auguste’s gay brother. Auguste’s hot brother.

Auguste never told Damen he had a brother.

Damen can understand why after meeting him.

Jokaste asked Damen to give her a ride to their meeting point since her car was in the shop. Damen obliged, more than a little suspicious of the “gay” guy using his girlfriend.

Seeing a carbon copy of Jokaste standing beside Auguste was not who he expected.

Seeing all three of those beautiful blonds beside each other was like a wet dream come true.

Damen did not hang around.

* * *

That was the start of the fighting between him and Jokaste.

It started off small, over who would wash the dishes that night or what movie they would see at the theater the next weekend, then it escalated to how much her shopping cost them or how much time he was spending with the guys.

Jokaste started sleeping at a friend’s house, and Damen started going out drinking with Nik more.

* * *

The break up should have been vicious, considering what led up to it.

It wasn’t. They were both very mature about it, and Damen agreed to move out because it was her apartment first. She even helped him pack, though whether that was out of the kindness of her heart or to get him out of her apartment faster is anyone’s guess.

Auguste let him move in until he could find his own place.

* * *

Laurent spent a lot of time at Auguste’s apartment, whether Auguste was there or not. Sometimes Laurent would sit around and read while he and Auguste played video games together. Other times Laurent would come over during the night and make some food in Auguste’s kitchen.

Damen didn’t know why he came to Auguste’s in the middle of the night to cook, but when he got up for water during the night and found Laurent cooking, they would chat. Laurent occasionally even let Damen help if he was feeling amiable.

Jokaste was still seeing Laurent, but he’s pretty sure she’s seeing Auguste too. Either that or Auguste has grown incredibly uncomfortable around Damen and is around the house less often for some reason he won’t tell Damen.

* * *

Auguste is definitely seeing Jokaste.

Laurent’s drunk one night and laying on Auguste’s couch, a movie playing but going unwatched.

Laurent would normally be cooking, maybe baking, if he were over at this time of night. But tonight, he stumbled in, loud enough to wake the dead, and crashed onto the couch and has yet to move.

Damen sat beside him, gave him a glass of water that he didn't touch, and has been rubbing Laurent’s feet since.

Laurent reeks of griva. He looks like he’s sleeping with his eyes open. Damen is admittedly a little worried. He’d get Auguste, but he hasn’t returned home yet.

“How do you know if you’re in love?”

Laurent, drunkly, rolls onto his back. He stares at the ceiling and folds his arms over his stomach. Damen wonders if he’s going to throw up.

Damen doesn’t get a chance to answer before Laurent continues on.

Eyes squeezing shut, he looks pained as he whispers, “My dad’s gonna kill me.”

Damen doesn’t know how to help. His parents had been perfectly accepting of his coming out. Damen hasn’t met Auguste’s parents, but Auguste didn’t have positive things to say about his father.

Laurent groans.

* * *

Laurent did throw up, luckily only on the floor and he just missed Auguste’s white rug. Damen carried Laurent to his bed, laid him on his side, and placed a bowl on the bedside table before he went to clean up the barf.

* * *

When Laurent finally gets out of bed that morning, Damen has breakfast cooking and some pain pills and a glass of water on the table waiting for him.

Laurent drinks his water and takes his pills and stares unblinking at the wall across from him.

Damen places a plate of french toast in front of Laurent and offers him a smile.

Laurent goes pink cheeked and stares down at his plate.

That’s when Auguste decides to return home.

Damen says nothing about him smelling like Jokaste’s perfume and simply directs him to Laurent, moping and nursing a hangover.

* * *

It becomes more and more evident that, while he’s trying to be polite, Auguste is pushing for Damen to make a move on Laurent.

Damen is baffled by it. Auguste was so protective of Laurent that he didn’t even mention Laurent’s existence in the five years they’d known each other, and now he’s trying to set them up?

Damen decides to sit Auguste down after he tries to convince Damen to go to the movies with Laurent. Laurent, who has made himself scarce since the night he showed up drunk.

“Auguste,” he starts, letting out a sigh. Auguste is tense beside him. “I don’t know if this is out of some misplaced guilt for seeing Jokaste–”

“You know about that?” Auguste’s eyes are wide.

Damen offers a rueful smile. “Yes. And it’s okay.”

Auguste blinks at him, his eyes darting away. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I meant to, I just didn’t know how.”

Damen places a hand on Auguste’s shoulder. “Look Auguste, it’s okay. I just want you to be happy. And if she makes you happy, then I’m with you one hundred percent.”

Auguste meets his eyes again, a smile creeping back onto his face.

Damen continues. “But you don’t have to set me up with your brother just because you feel bad about–”

“No, no, no! That’s not what I was doing!”

Damen raises a brow at the exclamation. Auguste comes back to himself, and then he turns red.

“You can’t tell Laurent I said anything,” Auguste tells him, voice barely a whisper. “But he–”

The door to the apartment opens then, revealing Laurent. Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

“Auguste?” Laurent isn’t looking at them and he scuffs his foot against the floor. “Can I talk to you?”

Auguste shoots a look to Damen before he stands with a smile. “Of course! Anything for my baby brother!”

He wraps Laurent into his arms and smothers his head with kisses, despite Laurent’s shoving and protests.

Damen has a feeling he knows what Auguste was going to say.

* * *

Damen ended up inviting Laurent to the movies with him.

Laurent had gone beet red, said no, and run out the apartment door.

Damen had to finish cooking the food Laurent left behind.

* * *

Laurent didn’t come back over for a whole two weeks, but Auguste has been in a much better mood since the Jokaste reveal.

Damen is happy for them, really.

* * *

When Laurent finally shows back up, he’s drunk on griva again. He slams straight into Damen when he makes for his bedroom.

Laurent groans into Damen’s chest. Then he mumbles words that are lost into the fabric of Damen’s night shirt. Normally he’d sleep nude, but Auguste kept the house far too chilly for that.

“Laurent, I can’t hear you with my shirt in your mouth.”

Laurent goes boneless against him, so Damen takes pity and helps Laurent onto his bed. Damen will evidently be sleeping on the couch again tonight.

Laurent looks up at him, blue eyes bleary, and says, “You’re really hot.”

Damen chuckles. “Yeah, I’ve always put out a lot of body heat, sorry.”

Laurent frowns. “No, that’s not what I meant,” he whines. “You’re so oblivious Damianos!”

Laurent throws himself onto the bed and curls into the covers.

Damen can only smile at the display and head for the couch.

* * *

“Auguste?”

Laurent is at the door, tears rolling down his face and a red mark on his cheek.

Damen and Auguste are on high alert the moment they see him.

Laurent falls into Auguste’s open arms the moment he’s there and starts to cry. Damen frets from the sidelines.

“Laurent, what happened?” Damen asks, rubbing Laurent’s back.

“I told Dad, that-that I’m gay…and he hit me!”

Auguste goes from worry to shock to rage frighteningly fast.

He passes Laurent to Damen, departing with a pet to Laurent’s head and a threat to maim their father.

Laurent continues to cry, though quieter now, little hiccups jostling them both from time to time.

Damen walks them over to the couch and sits Laurent down.

“I’m going to get you an ice pack for your cheek.”

Laurent nods and stares at his feet. He sniffles.

When Damen comes back, Laurent has stopped crying, and his face is void of emotion. Damen squats in front of Laurent and holds the pack to his cheek, gentle for the bruise and wrapped in a cloth so the ice doesn’t hurt his skin.

“For what it’s worth,” Damen tells him, his voice low between them. “I’m really proud of you.”

Laurent meets his eyes. Damen gives him a small smile, hoping to cheer Laurent up even a little. All he gets is Laurent’s eyes watering up again.

Damen feels panic crawl up his spine. He didn’t mean to make it worse.

He’s about to start spilling out apologies when Laurent’s arms come around his neck and pull him close.

“Thank you, Damianos.”

Damen wraps his arms around Laurent’s waist.

* * *

By the time Auguste gets back, it’s late and Laurent has fallen asleep in Damen’s bed, where he’s taken to sleeping when he’s over here.

Auguste drops heavily onto the couch beside Damen.

“How is he?”

Damen passes Auguste his beer, “Sleeping. Better, I guess. He said your mom took it better than your dad. She was mostly upset about losing Jokaste?”

Auguste takes a swig, passes back the beer, and nods. “She’ll be pleased Jokaste is still around I suppose.”

They pass the beer back and forth between them until it’s empty, and stare at the TV for a while.

“I punched my dad.”

Damen looks over at Auguste, but he’s as blank faced as Laurent was.

“What did he do?”

Auguste shrugged. “Pretty sure he’s disowning me and Laurent. But our mom still loves us.”

Damen gets up and grabs two more beers from the fridge. “I’m sorry, man.”

“Don’t be. I make plenty of money, and Laurent doesn’t need someone like that in his life. I can take care of us just fine.”

Damen nods and they sip their beers.

Damen crashes on the couch that night and Auguste leaves to see Jokaste.

* * *

Laurent spent a very long time talking to his mom on the phone the next morning, mostly about Jokaste.

Being assured that Auguste was dating her cheered Hennike up a little. Asking if he was seeing anyone cheered Laurent up a little.

Laurent had cast a glance Damen’s way, a flush to his cheeks, and said it was complicated.

Damen continued with breakfast, a smirk on his face. Complicated. Okay.

* * *

Damen convinced Laurent to go to the movies with him that night. Laurent rejected just as quickly as he had before, but he didn’t run out of the apartment. Damen managed to get him to go anyway.

It wasn’t much, just a start, but Laurent smiled the whole time.


	2. A Sad AU (Damen/Laurent)

Damen goes to the hospital a lot because his mom is a doctor there. He is left in child care but he gets to go and play with the children who have to stay in the cancer ward. They always look happy to see him. Except, there’s this one little boy. He’s blond and a few years younger than Damen and he likes to read horse books. He cries a lot, quietly. He only ever seems to cheer up when a tall, older blond man shows up.

Damen catches the man when he’s leaving one day and asks about the boy. The man promises to bring Damen to see the boy, Laurent, next time he visits.

Auguste keeps true to his promise, and Damen and Laurent start spending a lot of time together.

As the years pass, Damen and Laurent become good friends and grow closer and closer.

Damen tries not to intrude too much when Auguste visits, especially when the visits come fewer and farther between. Laurent talks on the phone with him a lot.

Damen’s first kiss is with Laurent, and his first love is with Laurent, and his first tragedy is with Laurent.

Laurent doesn’t make it to his twenty-first birthday. He’s told that Laurent died in his sleep.

The funeral is held, and Damen finally meets Laurent’s father, the man who never bothered to visit his dying son in the hospital, but footed all his medical bills. Aleron cares little for Damen beyond his last name and the fact that he and Laurent had been dating the last few years of Laurent’s life.

Damen and Auguste are the only ones to stay behind after everyone else has left. Laurent is buried by his mother, who died of the same cancer that took him.

Damen moves on with his life eventually. He keeps in contact with Auguste, and they meet up once a year to visit Laurent’s grave. Damen never finds a love like he had with Laurent again, and he doesn't really want to.


	3. Nikandros Is Too Sober For This (Damen/Laurent)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anonymous asked: 49. "I'm too sober for this" Nikandros having to deal with Damen/Laurent

Laurent goes down the slide again, giggling at the static it puts in his hair. Damen comes down too fast behind him and they both fall onto the mat on the ground, laughing.

Nikandros takes another swig of beer and watches from his place on the swings.

Laurent had marched them onto the playground after they started to walk home from the club, declaring their night not yet over.

Damen had happily gone after him and Nik had been forced to follow. Sure, he could have walked back home on his own and left them to it, but they were far more drunk than Nik himself, and liable to get into all sorts of trouble. Like getting caught having sex on that very same slide.

They are a force of nature together, and even worse when alcohol is involved.

So Nik lets them have their fun, and watches from the sidelines.

They eventually come over to the swings, and Nik watches Laurent stumble over the log border, then laugh about it.

Nik sighs.

Damen sits in Nik’s lap and Laurent sits on the swing beside them. Damen takes Nik’s beer and drinks the last dreg at the bottom.

Nik takes the empty bottle back. “Dick.” There’s no malice in it.

“Love you, too, babe.” Damen smiles and plants a wet kiss to Nik’s cheek.

Laurent laughs, head thrown back and nearly falling out of his seat. Damen doubles over, laughing as well. He does fall out of his seat.

Nik sighs again.

“I’m too sober for this.”


	4. Laurent is in the Mafia (Damen/Laurent)

Laurent is dating Damen at an inopportune point in his life. Auguste and their uncle are feuding, and Laurent will be forced to publicly pick a side soon, but before that he must get Damen to safety.

He wouldn’t put it passed his uncle to hurt Damen and force Laurent’s favor.

Auguste knows this, and is trying to help, but nearly getting them killed in the meantime is a piss-poor plan.

“Just drive like a normal person, Auguste!”

“Don’t yell at me; I’m stressed!”

Laurent clutches Damen to his side in the back of the van. He’s sprawl out and not wholly awake yet, and groans with every harsh turn they take or pothole they hit head on.

Laurent tucks Damen closer to his chest. “It’ll be okay. Once we get out of the city, Jord can keep you safe.”

Jord doesn’t much care for Damen, but he is loyal to Auguste, and by extension, Laurent. So he will watch Damen with his life, and do everything within and without his power to keep him safe. Even while staring Death in the face, he will smile and dare it to give its all.

Jord is in the front with Auguste, stoic, but gripping the Oh Crap bar like a lifeline.

Damen’s eyes blink open, then squint in the light. He glances up at Laurent.

Laurent gives a smile and brushes Damen’s hair from his face. “Hey, handsome.”

“Laurent?” he rasps. “What’s happening?”

Before Laurent can answer, his shoulder is slammed into the side of the van as Auguste swings a turn. Jord should have driven.

Auguste is just lucky this is a matter that is time-sensitive.

“Auguste!” Laurent is getting angry all the same.

“I’m working on it!” Auguste equally so.

Laurent glares at Auguste’s headrest for a moment longer then turns back to Damen, and forces his features to soften.

“Sweetheart, I need to tell you something, and I need you to stay calm when I tell you.”

It’s not the best way to instill security in a person, but the point is the same; if Damen freaks out, he could hurt himself or distract Auguste and get them all killed.

Damen has the face of a person preparing to freak out, so Laurent takes his hand and folds their fingers together.

“Damianos, my love, you were shot.” Damen jolts in his spot, and looks down at himself to find the injury, but it’s under his clothes and numbed to the point of worry, so he is assuredly not feeling it, and is too drugged to coordinate looking. “I’m taking you somewhere with someone who will keep you safe. I’ll be back for you very soon. I promise.”

Damen is still staring at his body, and likely doesn’t even remember much from before he passed out, at least not yet.

He drags his heavy head back up to Laurent. “Laurent. What’s happening?”

Laurent can feel when they pull off pavement and onto gravel, then dirt. They’ll be at the safehouse soon.

“My uncle is trying to hurt me,” Laurent says, voice soft. He strokes a finger down Damen’s cheek. Damen catches his hand and kisses his palm, eyes never straying. “And he’s learned of my only weakness.”

Auguste finally pulls the van to a stop, and Laurent knows their time is up.

Jord hops out of the van and comes around to open the back. Damen was shot in his thigh, and he won’t be able to walk very well, if at all with the drugs in his system.

“Stay with me,” Damen begs, holding onto Laurent as tightly as his weak body can. “Don’t leave me.”

Laurent would like nothing more, but he has to be there to help Auguste, secure his place as head of the family, and see to it that their uncle takes his last breath very soon.

Laurent kisses Damen’s knuckles as Jord pops the crutches to Damen’s height. “I have to go. And you have to stay here.”

It hurts to say that, to help get Damen out the van and onto the crutches even as he protests and begs Laurent to stay. It hurts to kiss him goodbye and wonder if it’ll be their last. And it hurts to walk away when Damen tells him he loves him.

“I love you too,” Laurent tells him as he gets in the passenger seat. “You’ll be safe here.”

“What about you?” Damen asks, being held up and held back by Jord.

Laurent gives a sad smile. “I’ve never been safe.”

So they leave. The mafia is no place for a pure soul like Damen. He may be trained to fight, but he isn’t ruthless enough to kill. A boxer can’t fight off a bullet, the hole in Damen’s thigh is enough proof of that.

Maybe in another life Laurent could have taught him the trade, or Laurent could have left this life behind altogether for Damen. Maybe in another life, but not this one.

The mafia doesn’t let you go so easily, and not when you have so many enemies and know too many secrets. And Laurent is abundant in both.


	5. Kept Man (Damen/Laurent)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: not incest, but it may still make you uncomfortable

Laurent misses Auguste. Misses him desperately. A yearning so depraved and starving, he’ll do anything to have him back. He’d sell his soul if he could have back his brother. He’d kill, he’d maim, he’d steal, he’d die.

The closest he’s ever come to getting his brother back…is through Damianos.

A bright star in his dark sky. Able to bring some small shred of normalcy back to Laurent’s life. Some joy.

Damianos makes Laurent happy. Laurent hasn’t felt happy since he lost Auguste.

Dark fingers dig painfully into pale thighs, hips meeting hips in a vicious slap. Lips kiss, then panting breaths mingle together.

Damianos’ head falls back, hair haloed around his beautiful face. His hips don’t stop, his clawing hands don’t give an inch, and he smiles so beautifully.

Auguste had a beautiful smile.

Laurent looms over Damianos, settling his hips hard enough to still Damianos’ own. He takes his hands, folds their fingers, and pins them over Damianos’ head with no strength at all.

“You’re mine, Damianos.”

Damianos leans up for a kiss, and Laurent allows it. “Yours.”

It’s such a simple thing, but it sends flutters through Laurent’s stomach. His. His Damianos. His Auguste.

Auguste never touched Laurent like this. Not like their uncle had. Corrupting Laurent with his fingers and his tongue and his cock. And Laurent would never dare to soil Auguste in such a way.

Laurent had ruined Damianos with this, but Damianos is not Auguste, is only a poor replacement, if the best.

Laurent doesn’t want Damianos to  _be_  Auguste. No one could ever compare to the perfection of his brother. Laurent doesn’t want anyone to try. But Damianos is close. So close.

He’s so close.

“Damianos,” Laurent whines, then Damianos is free, gripping Laurent to him and pistoning his hips.

Laurent clutches at Damianos, one hand wormed under his shoulder, and the other tangled in his mane.

Auguste had a tender head and didn’t like his hair pulled. Damianos gets off on it.

Laurent cums, warm between their already hot skin, and Damianos groans under him, teeth in the flesh on Laurent’s neck, pain chased away with wet kisses.

They lay panting and sluggish. Damianos’ cock softens within him, cum drooling out of Laurent and down Damianos’ thighs.

Damianos is not Auguste. Auguste would never use Laurent this way. Laurent would never want him to.

Damianos is  _not_  Auguste.

Damianos is a star, small and pale in comparison to the sun that used to brighten Laurent’s day.

But Damianos is good enough.

Laurent rises, cum dripping onto Damianos and the bedding, and leaves the room, turning out the light and locking the door behind himself.

His.


	6. Dandelion (Damen/Laurent)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shae-la-hyene asked: Prompt : Lamen, dandelion. What did you wish for ? I wished he had known you

Damen lays back in the field’s grass, uncaring of bug or critter, watching the clouds. Laurent sits by his side, humming as he turns yellow dandelions into flower crowns, a trick he learned for the children he babysits.

Damen rubs at Laurent’s back, content to spend the whole day laying out in the field.

Laurent pulls Damen off his back and places the crown on his head, just too small. Laurent pouts and takes it off, placing it on his own head instead, and starts again.

Damen chuckles and moves to sit behind Laurent, cuddling the blond to his chest.

He presses lazy kisses to Laurent shoulder and neck, his fingers tickling Laurent’s side where they slipped under his shirt, his skin cool even in the spring heat.

“Damianos,” Laurent warns, still focused on his task.

Damen hums, feigning ignorance.

Laurent struggles out of his grip, then gets to his knees before Damen, a new crown in hand.

This one fits Damen’s head, and Laurent smiles like when he beats Damen at chess.

Damen plucks some white dandelions from the ground and blows them into Laurent’s face.

Laurent purses his lips and squeezes his eyes closed. He looks less than pleased when he opens his eyes again.

Damen grins, a laugh on his lips. “Beautiful.”

Laurent shoves him back, laughing. “You’re awful, Damianos.”

Damen pulls Laurent close and presses a kiss to his rosy cheek. He plucks another and passes it to Laurent. “Make a wish, my prince.”

Laurent sits back and takes the dandelion. “Did you make a wish when you blew yours in my face?”

Damen gives a solid nod. “As a matter of fact, I did.”

Laurent twirls the flower stem between his fingers. “What’d you wish for?”

“To see you smile.” Damen reaches up to trace Laurent’s lip with his thumb. Laurent kisses the pad of his finger.

Laurent turns his head and thinks for a moment, his eyes unfocused with thought. There are still dandelion buds in his hair, adding a softness to his beautiful face. Then he closes his eyes, and he blows the buds into the wind.

Laurent watches them float away, and Damen has to draw him back to the present when it seems he’s slipped too far into his thoughts.

“What did you wish for?”

Laurent’s face has gentled. He lays back on Damen’s chest and snuggles in. “I wished he had known you.”

Damen’s breath draws short. Laurent rarely speaks of his brother. The death too recent, the wound too fresh. Damen had come along not long after Laurent lost his brother, he hadn’t known him, but Laurent looked at his photos with grief in his eyes, and the few times he brought up Auguste were raw moments full of tears and sorrow.

Damen worries for a moment about Laurent. When he feels tears fall onto his shirt, he frets.

Damen sits them up and holds Laurent close. Laurent doesn’t need Damen’s words or his condolences, he needs a pillar, someone to be strong when he cannot. So Damen stays quiet and pets Laurent’s hair while Laurent lets silent tears fall down his cheeks.


	7. Under the Covers (Damen/Laurent)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shae-la-hyene asked: Prompt : "Laurent ! Something is moving in the bed !!" You have the choice of it being Laurent's cat or snake.

The first time Damen spent the night at Laurent’s had been wonderful. No, fantastic. No, perfect. No,  _beyond_  perfect.

The morning after…it wasn’t  _that_  bad.

They’d fallen asleep after two rounds of sex, and Laurent had curled so nicely into Damen’s arms, like he belonged there.

When he’d woken up, Laurent had already been out of bed and in the shower. Damen was fine with that.

He stretches out, ankles popping, and settles back, waiting for Laurent to emerge.

Everything is fine until something touches Damen’s foot. Damen moves his feet away from whatever it was that touched him, and sees a little lump under the blanket at the end of the bed.

“Laurent?” Damen calls. Laurent doesn’t respond, the shower too loud and a closed door between them.

The little lump moves, splitting into two smaller lumps and moving up the bed.

Damen jumps out from under the blanket and watches in terrified fascination. “Laurent!”

“Yeah?”

“Can you, uh, could you come here?” The little lumps come scurrying back to the end of the bed, then joining together again. Damen’s muscles are tense. “Quickly?!”

A third lump comes up onto the bed from over the edge in odd jerks, then races to the other lumps squirming around each other. Damen thinks he might cry.

Laurent steps out of the bathroom, towel around his waist and hair dripping. He pauses when he sees Damen. “What is it?”

Damen points. “Laurent!” Like it’s obvious, and it  _should_  be. “Something is moving in the bed!”

Laurent finally takes note of the bed, then smiles, his whole face growing soft. He walks up to the bed and flips the covers back to show three kittens fighting at the center of the bed, all stopping to look at Laurent when their hiding place is revealed.

Two resume fighting while the other tries running to Laurent on its tiny legs.

Laurent picks the kitten up and it curls into his palm.

He walks around the bed to Damen. “They sleep under the bed, and they like to climb up it in the morning. I didn’t think you’d be awake when I came back so I didn’t worry about them.” He gives Damen a sly look, holding the little black kitten out to him like Damen might flinch away. “Although, I also didn’t think you’d be so scared by a few kittens playing at your feet.”

Damen takes the kitten in his hands and it curls up in his palm as easily as it had Laurent’s. It starts purring. Damen’s heart melts.

“I didn’t know you had cats. If I had, I might have been more prepared.”

Laurent smiles and unwraps his towel, and Damen knows it was a deliberate move, because Laurent sways his hips as he walks away, but Damen still stares.

Damen sits the kitten on the bed with its siblings. “I’d love to stay, but I’m gonna go play with your daddy now.”

Damen follows Laurent into the bathroom. They don’t leave for some time.


	8. Liar (Damen/Laurent)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shae-la-hyene asked: Prompt : L "you lied to me !" D "You're mad ?" L "No. I'm impressed !"

Laurent could only glare as Damianos went red faced, angry and trying not to be. Damianos is quick to anger though, and Laurent is so good at pushing his buttons.

But this…it feels as though Damianos has changed the game, broken all the rules and thrown them into Laurent’s face.

How  _dare_  he.

“You lied to me!” Laurent hisses.

Damianos has his hands clenched into fists, lips pressed together, and breaths labored with restraining his wrath. “So what? You lie all time. I do it, and, what? You’re mad?”

Laurent is. Oh, he is so very, very mad. A smirk crawls onto his face, vicious and ugly, “No. I’m impressed. I didn’t think you had it in you.”

Damianos grows tense, watching the motions of Laurent’s body after the warning of his mouth. Damianos is no fool, but he has a code of honor. Laurent didn’t think he had a dishonest bone in his body.

Until he proved that he does.

Laurent just never thought he’d find out this way.

Laurent fingers the blade in his hand, thinking of throwing it into Damianos' chest, of cutting out his treacherous heart and squeezing until the bloody thing caved under the pressure of his fingers.

He thinks of slicing up Damianos' pretty face afterwards, so if Laurent ever thinks of him again, the beauty of Damianos will be marked with gore and face-meat and blood, his eyeballs gouged from their sockets, his teeth ripped from his mouth.

Hideous. A nightmare, and a message.

You don’t play with Laurent de Vere.

Laurent meets Damianos’ eyes, thinks of the bloody black holes they’d leave in their place, and smiles again, one they’d share after a tumble in the bed, or the car, behind a tree maybe.

Damianos flinches. Hurt shines in his eyes. The fight leaves him.

“I might be a dirty, foul-mouthed liar Damianos, but I only ever told you the truth.” Laurent lets the smile slip from his lips and tilts his head, eyes inquisitive. “It’s a shame all you ever told me were lies.”


	9. Through the Mirror (Laurent & Nicaise, Damen/Laurent)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shae-la-hyene asked: Prompt : Damen and Nik watching Laurent tearing appart people "oh shit he saw us !"

Damen and Nik arrive at the station at six in the morning, just before the night shift leave.

Pallas catches them at their desks, an anxious look about him, and jerks a thumb over his shoulder. “Laurent’s in interrogation room B.”

Pallas jogs back to where he came from, his message passed on and mission complete. Nik shoots Damen a look, like it’s Damen’s fault they have to deal with this before they’ve even sat down. He chugs down the last half of his coffee. “Off to face the beast.”

Damen snorts, because it’s still early enough to laugh about things like that, and they set off.

Lazar is waiting for them at the door of interrogation room B, leaned against the wall and half asleep. He works the night shift and should be leaving soon. One last task for the night, Damen supposes.

“Laurent wants you to wait in there.” He bobs his head to the room next door.

Damen takes a sip of his coffee as they walk in. Laurent is on the other side of the two way mirror, leaning over the metal table to hiss threats at his victim.

Nik turns the mic on and they settle in for a show.

“I’m sick of this behavior, Nicaise. First you key a car, and now you’ve smashed in someone’s windows?”

Nicaise, Laurent’s ward until the adoption papers go through, opens his mouth to defend himself, but Laurent slams his fist into the metal tabletop. They can hear Nicaise’s teeth clack together as his mouth shuts. He still glares at Laurent.

“You have three years to straighten up, or you’ll be charged with destruction of property and tried as an adult. I’m calling in a lot of favors just to keep you from being sent to Juvie.”

Nicaise stops looking at Laurent and folds his arms.

Nik snorts.

Laurent straightens up suddenly and turns, his eyes seeing through the glass. It feels like he’s looking into their very souls.

“Oh shi–” Nik slaps his hand to his mouth, cutting himself off. His eyes are wide. He drags his hand down like it weights a ton. “He saw us.”

He can’t see them, the glass doesn’t reveal their side. But, God, if it doesn’t feel true enough.

Laurent stares for a moment longer then turns back around, telling Nicaise in a mild voice that Pallas will take him to school.

Nicaise flicks Laurent off, and then Nik and Damen through the glass, and storms out the room in the way only angry teenagers can. He slams the door behind him, uncaring that Laurent had been following behind him.

Laurent takes a breath, opens the door with a forced calm, then leaves.

Nik and Damen turn as Laurent walks in to join them now, and his smile is angry. “Thank you for meeting me so early, gentlemen.”


	10. Chocolate (Damen/Laurent)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shae-la-hyene asked: Prompt : "you have chocolate on your cheek" "that's not surprising I'm making chocolate"

Laurent is hit by the smell before he even opens the door to their apartment, but actually opening the door is another story.

The cocoa is stronger in the apartment, and in the kitchen, he finds Damen. Several mixing bowls litter the counter, and the island has trays full of candy, either finished or cooling.

Damen is not a man to sit idle when something can be done, and evidently, chocolate is what he’s chosen to do.

Laurent leans against the doorway. Damen is busy pouring chocolate into a silicone mold and hasn’t noticed Laurent’s arrival. “You have chocolate on your cheek.”

Damen doesn’t jump, which is disappointing. He glances up at Laurent. “That’s not surprising. I’m making chocolate.”

Laurent nods, and gives him a smile. “But why is it by your lips?”

Damen looks back down at what he’s doing. “I may have eaten some.”

Laurent hums, amused, and walks up to Damen.

Damen straightens up and looks down at Laurent. Laurent steps closer, so their bodies are nearly touching. “Let me get that for you.”

Laurent cups Damen behind his neck and pulls him to Laurent’s height. Laurent watches Damen’s reaction as he licks the chocolate off his lips.

“That isn’t fair,” he whines.

Laurent smiles as he turns away, taking a piece of chocolate with him. “All’s fair in love and war, Damianos.”


	11. Runaway (Damen/Laurent)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shae-la-hyene asked: Prompt : a bit of angst. "Damen we... we have to leave now." "Why ?" "Just trust me"

Laurent hangs up the phone on Lazar and puts it back into his pocket. He turns to Damen, putting the last of Laurent’s books into one of the boxes they brought with them.

“Damen, we…” Laurent feels like he’s falling into autopilot. “We have to leave now.”

Damen’s brows furrow and he sets the books into the box. “Why?”

Laurent takes Damen’s hand, no longer caring for any of his belongings, only of getting out of the house. “Just trust me.”

Laurent leads him down the stairs, and he thinks he’s just about made it to freedom, escaped the house of horror unscathed, when the front door opens and Laurent’s uncle walks in.

Laurent’s steps stutter to a halt, Damen nearly running him over because of it.

His uncle smiles. Over his shoulder, Laurent can see that Jord has moved the car away so his uncle doesn’t know what he’d been planning. “Hello, Laurent. And who’s this?” His eyes turn to Damen.

Laurent can feel Damen tensing behind him. Laurent speaks before Damen can.

“He’s no one, Uncle. He was just leaving,” Laurent’s voice is weak. Even if he can’t leave now, he hopes to still get Damen out the door.

But his uncle is no longer worried about Laurent, broken under his manipulative thumb long ago. He’s focused on Damen now.

“Are you a friend of Laurent’s? Laurent doesn’t have very many friends. Why don’t your stay for dinner?”

“He can’t,” Laurent cuts in before Damen can. “He has to go home.”

His uncle’s eyes shift back to him. “Well then,” he says. He takes a step aside to free the doorway and allow Damen passed. “By all means, don’t let me stop you.”

Damen goes, hesitate and shooting a glance Laurent’s way. Laurent turns his eyes to the floor. He hadn’t told Damen about his uncle like he had Jord and Lazar, lest Damen go into a blackout rage and try to kill him.

Now, as he watches him leave, he wonders if it would’ve been better to tell him. Then he might have been able to walk out with him.

The door closes, his saving grace has vanished and his uncle’s smile is gone. “You’ve been a very bad boy, Laurent.”


	12. Salty Baby (Damen/Nicaise, Damen/Laurent)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shae-la-hyene asked: Prompt : Nicaise/Damen. "Why don't you react ? Why are you never angry at me ??"

Nicaise, Damen will admit, is one of his feistier sugar babies. He reminds Damen of a cat. An entitled cat.

He’s pretty to look at, pissy about even the smallest thing, and demands only the best in return for being nothing but himself. But Damen has been in the business for a long time, and Nicaise’s behavior isn’t enough to piss him off.

Laurent is a personal favorite of Damen’s, but Nicaise is fun too, and Damen knows there’s a brilliant mind hiding behind that pouting face and curly hair.

So Damen keeps Nicaise as a baby, paying him an agreed allowance and showering him with gifts, and in return Nicaise goes to social events with him, looks pretty, and entertains Damen alone later that night.

Nicaise is in a sour mood when he picks him up tonight, however.

Damen pulls up to Nicaise’s apartment, the one he shares with Laurent, and waits for Nicaise to get in. Nicaise doesn’t take a step towards the car, and instead folds his arms.

He’s in a nice suit, his hair weaved through with diamonds, and his eyes sparkle with shiny makeup. Damen can tell he’s planned to come with him, they agreed on it anyway, but something’s bothering him. So Damen pulls into a parking spot and meets him at the door.

Damen places a kiss to Nicaise’s cheek in greeting. Nicaise frowns up at him, lower lip puckered. He stomps off to the car, and Damen sighs fondly as he follows.

He offers to help Nicaise in, and is met with a  _hmph_  and a slammed door. So he simply goes to his side, starts the car back up, and drives them to their destination.

Nicaise doesn’t start the radio like he normally would, and he doesn’t complain about something Laurent has done today in a passive aggressive show of love as usual either.

He and Laurent have an odd relationship. They aren’t dating, they seem almost brotherly actually. Laurent is the one who recommended Nicaise to him.

“Why don’t you react?” Nicaise finally says, startling Damen from his thoughts.

Damen glances over and offers an arched brow, hoping he’ll elaborate.

Nicaise shifts in his seat so he’s facing Damen. “Why are you never angry at me?”

Damen nearly laughs at that one. He looks back over at Nicaise, coming to stop at a red light. Nicaise turns his gaze back forward.

“You aren’t the first snappy sugar baby I’ve taken under my wing, Nicaise. Looking at my track record, I’d dare say far from it,” he jokes. Nicaise just scrunches up further in his seat. He’s going to wrinkle his suit. “If you want out of our arrangement, all you have to do is say so. I wouldn’t force you to keep seeing me if that isn’t what you want.”

Nicaise’s lips thin. “The light turned green.”

Damen looks at him for a moment longer then sighs, and turns to drive them on to the party. He’ll need to sit down with him later and find out what the problem is.

Damen had told Laurent about needing a date for the nights him and Erasmus had classes or studying or work, and Laurent had pointed him to Nicaise. A young man too impolite to get a part-time job almost anywhere, but also a college student in need of financial support.

He’d fit to Damen’s tastes and Damen had fit to his standards, and they’ve done well ever since. Damen doesn’t understand what could have made Nicaise angry. He supposes he’ll find out tonight.


	13. Catfish (Damen/Laurent)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shae-la-hyene asked: Prompt : you were so perfect... I thought I was catfished

Damen doesn’t know why he came tonight. Laurent is beautiful, and smart, and funny…and can’t possibly be real.

He should have just left things the way they were, kept up the illusion and pretended everything about it was fine. Damen places his face in his hands. He hasn’t prepared himself for the disappointment to come. He isn’t ready and it’s going to hit him hard.

“Um…Damianos?”

Damen peeks through his fingers, ready for the worst.

And it almost is the worst.

Laurent is really… _Laurent_. He wasn’t a fake face. He’s the real deal. Holy mother of Christ…

Damen is staring. He needs to stop staring.  _Pull yourself together, Damianos!_  Damen slides out of the booth and stands, offering out a hand. He’s nearly a head taller and Laurent has to tilt his head to meet his eyes. “Um, hi. Laurent?” Like it isn’t completely obvious.

Laurent’s cheeks go red and he’s clutching his phone. “Yeah, hi.”

Well at least they’re both nervous.

Damen sits back down and Laurent sits across from him. The waiter comes by and they order their drinks.

Damen feels so awkward. It’s never been like this talking to Laurent on the phone. Usually they can laugh and make jokes and talk about their days and it’s all so natural.

Damen feels at a loss of what to do now that they’re face to face.

Laurent gives a little laugh, just under his breath, but Damen will take anything to break the silence.

“What’s so funny,” he asks, giving an encouraging smile. What he  _hopes_  is an encouraging smile.

Laurent glances up at him, then leans back in the booth, oozing smooth confidence. That’s the Laurent he knows. “It’s just…You were so perfect…” He shrugs. “I thought I was catfished.”

Damen’s eyes go wide, his grin follows suit. “I thought the same thing!”

Laurent smiles, a blush tinting his cheeks. He looks so pretty when he blushes. “Really?”

“Yes,” Damen laughs. “I expected to come here and be totally blindsided.” He leans forward a little, husks his voice. “In a way, I feel like I was.”

Laurent’s entire face goes red, and Damen is proud to have put it there.

“You really are perfect,” Laurent mumbles.

Damen is so glad he came tonight.


	14. Cake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> shae-la-hyene asked: Prompt : Laurent "fine ! But if the cake end up burnt it'll be your fault !"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not good at writing blowjobs, and I apologize in advance.

“I can do it real quick.”

“No.”

“It’ll only take a few minutes.”

“No, Damianos.”

“Please?”

“Fine! But if the cake ends up burnt, it’ll be your fault.”

Damen grins, falling to his knees. Laurent leans against the counter and folds his arms while Damen undoes his pants.

Laurent lifts his hips just enough for Damen to pulls his pants down and free his cock.

He’s soft, and not all that interested in a blowjob, but Damen had given him puppy eyes and, well…Laurent’s a sucker for Damen’s puppy eyes.

Damen takes his flaccid cock in hand, and puts the tip to his lips, starting with little butterfly kisses, his grip barely there.

Laurent takes a breath, feeling interest stir, and places his hands onto the edge of the counter.

Damen takes the head into his mouth and rests his hands against Laurent’s hips. He sucks, earning a hiss from Laurent and an aborted buck of his hips.

Damen hums, and Laurent hates him for knowing how good that feels. His cock starts to grow in his mouth, and when it’s finally stiff enough, Damen works him down his throat.

Laurent grips the counter and bites his lip.

He presses his nose to Laurent’s pelvis, cock twitching with every swallow. Damen takes Laurent’s hands and places them on his head, pulling back until it’s just the tip between his puckered lips.

Laurent watches Damen take him down again and again, and curls his fingers into his hair. Damen wasn’t that good at sucking cock when they first met, but he is now. And he was an enthusiastic learner.

Damen looks up at him with the whole of Laurent’s cock down his throat, and, Christ, he has such beautiful eyes. Dark as the night sky, and as easy to get lost in.

Laurent nudges his hips forward, and Damen groans, his eyes falling half lidded.

Laurent tightens his grip and holds Damen’s head in place. He thrusts into Damen’s mouth.

Damen moans, a hand going to his own cock, massaging it through his jeans.

Laurent keeps the pace slow, and Damen takes him like a champ, all while taking his own cock out to jerk himself off.

When Laurent cums, it’s down Damen’s throat. Damen cums on Laurent’s shoes.

Laurent has half a mind to have him lick up the mess, but they aren’t playing right now and his Converse aren’t clean enough for that.

The oven timer dings as Laurent is tucking himself back in, and he hurries to wash his hands and grab a toothpick to check if the batter is finished.

Damen sits on the floor, grinning ear to ear.


	15. Friends (Damen/Laurent)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I have Friends on and this idea hit me:

Laurent is walking through his apartment when he glances out the window and sees the hot guy across the street. And that he’s naked.

All his friends notice this too, and they take to calling him Cute Naked Guy.

For years they all watch Cute Naked Guy do random activities through the windows, and Laurent is pretty sure he’s the only one who knows Cute Naked Guy  _knows_  they’re watching him.

How does he know? He got Cute Naked Guy’s number through the window.

So for a few more weeks this goes on. Laurent’s friends and brother will come over and sometimes stare at Cute Naked Guy, and Laurent will text Cute Naked Guy about it that night.

Eventually they start dating, and Cute Naked Guy actually owns clothes and they look very nice on him. Laurent doesn’t tell anyone; he doesn’t know if this will work out and his friends are harsh judges of the people he dates.

So it’s sort of an open secret. They know Laurent is dating, and Laurent doesn’t go out of his way to hide Damen from them-–he’s even gone with Damen to Central Perk a few times. But he doesn't tell them either.

It turns out that they work out very well though, because barely a year later, they decide to move in together; and since Laurent has the bigger apartment, they agree on his place.

Auguste, who’s been bumming with Jord and Orlant after Kashel left him and her cousin kicked him out of her apartment, has been looking for a place. So Laurent offhandedly mentions that Cute Naked Guy is moving.

Auguste jumps on it, because they’ve been staring at that apartment for years and it’s definitely a nice place.

Now, this, again, is a very nice apartment. A lot of people want it. Laurent asks Damen to give it to Auguste, of course, and Damen has no problem with it.

Laurent never gets the chance to tell Auguste this though. And not soon after, Lazar spots Cute Naked Guy through the window, and sees he’s got a naked friend with him. They all rush to the window, only to gasp in horror.

Laurent slaps his hands over his eyes.

“That’s our friend,” Jord gasps.

Vannes pulls a face. “That’s Naked Auguste!”

Damen is laughing about it later that night in Laurent’s bed, while Laurent is trying to get the image of his brother’s penis out of his head.

Auguste gets the apartment, and Damen moves in with Laurent.

A couple weeks later, when everyone shows up at Laurent’s apartment for breakfast and find Cute Naked Guy sitting on his couch watching TV, Laurent curled up in his side, they all seem to short-circuit. Especially Auguste.


	16. They Don't Know (Damen/Laurent, Laurent & Auguste)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> fleur-xael asked: Hey! I don't know if you're still taking prompts, but if you are, maybe consider Lamen modern au where they have to struggle with their sexualities? (Only if you want, of course) I love your work! ❤❤❤

“So,” Auguste says, smirking. “She was cute.”

Laurent’s face scrunches up, and he closes the car door. “Vannes isn’t cute.”

Auguste rolls his eyes, pulling away from the school parking lot. “C'mon Laurent. You’re fourteen! Don’t tell me you still think girls have cooties.”

“No, it’s just–” Laurent cuts himself off, his face flushing. He doesn’t know if he’s embarrassed to admit who he really thinks is cute, or if he’s ashamed Auguste will think he’s gross for it, but his face grows red all the same. “I guess she’s cute,” he mumbles instead, turning his eyes to the window.

Auguste chuckles and reaches over to ruffle Laurent’s hair. Laurent shoves his hand away. “Look at you! Getting all soft because of a girl.”

It’s not because of a girl, Laurent thinks.

Thinking of whom, Auguste drives passed Damen and Nik walking home. At the speed they’re going, Laurent is able to catch his eyes, and waves his fingers.

Damen grins and waves his whole arm after the car. Laurent smiles.

Auguste cuts his eyes over to Laurent, another smile coming to his lips. “Was that a friend of yours?”

“Something like that,” Laurent whispers, feeling his cheeks heat again.

* * *

Auguste takes a seat by his mother, throwing his arm around her shoulders and crossing his legs, looking totally casual. He listens as Laurent races up the stairs to his room, already taking his phone out and texting someone.

As soon as his door slams shut, Auguste leans over to his mom, a grin splitting his lips. “Laurent has a crush!” He whispers, overwhelmed with excitement.

Hennike’s eyes widen, then she smiles too. “Do you know who? Did he tell you?”

“A girl walked with him to the car. Her name is Vannes. He said she was cute. Mom,” he stresses. “Laurent was blushing.  _Blushing_.”

Hennike squeals and claps her hands. “She has to come over! I have to meet her!”

Auguste places a finger to her mouth. “Shhh! You don’t want him to hear you.”

She blinks, then pushes his hand away. “I want to meet her.”

Auguste glances up the stairs, but Laurent’s door is still firmly shut. “We don’t want to scare her off. They aren’t dating. It’s just a crush. We need to give it time, see how it develops.”

Hennike nods. “You’re right. Okay. I’ll wait.” She nods and turns back to the TV. Then she smiles. “Tell me what she looks like?”

Auguste chuckles and then tells her what little he saw of the mysterious Vannes.

* * *

Laurent gasps as Damen’s lips touch the skin of his neck, pressing kisses from his jaw down to his shoulder. They have just a few precious minutes to be together before Auguste arrives and Damen needs to change for soccer practice.

“Damen,” Laurent sighs, his fingers tangled in Damen’s hair and gripping the back of his shirt.

Damen moans, sucking at the sensitive skin. Laurent bucks his hips against the thigh between his legs, his lip bit between his teeth.

Someone runs down the bleachers overhead, clambering closer and closer. “Psst! Your brother’s here!” Vannes whisper-shouts between the seats, having been keeping a look out for August’s car. She’s a great friend.

Damen pulls away, slowly, his lips still sucking a hickie onto Laurent’s neck.

His eyes are half lidded when they meet Laurent’s. He gives a dopey smile. “See you tomorrow, sweetheart.”

“Yeah,” Laurent replies intelligently, equally dopey.

He hears Vannes scoff above them. “Gross.”

Damen presses a parting kiss to Laurent lips, and then they go their separate ways.

When he gets into the car with Auguste, he feels eyes boring into him. “So,” he says, like he always does before he embarrasses Laurent. At least he’s giving Laurent the heads up on what’s coming. “Did  _Vannes_  give you that hickie?”

Laurent pulls his jacket higher around his neck, his face flaming, and tries to ignore Auguste’s laughing.

* * *

“So, Laurent,” his mom says as they sit down to dinner. “Are you dating anyone yet?”

Laurent slams his hands on the table and glares at Auguste, who pulls a wince. “You  _told_  her?”

“I… _may_  have told her you said a girl was cute once a few months ago probably,” he says, not looking at Laurent. Their dad huffs a laugh.

“Well,” Aleron asks, turning away from his phone long enough to spare Laurent some attention. “Are you seeing someone?”

This is the first bit of undivided attention his father has probably ever given Laurent since his birth. Laurent feels trapped and suffocated under his steely gaze.

Laurent nods, hesitant. “Yeah…I’m seeing someone…”

“Yes!” His mom shouts, throwing her fist in the air. “That’s my boy!” She fist bumps with Auguste, who seems to no longer care about having betrayed Laurent’s trust.

Aleron hums, the slightest quirk to his lips. He turns his attention back to his phone. “Invite her over for dinner. I’d love to meet the girl who finally caught your attention.”

Laurent flushes at that, his thoughts on Damen and the hickies sucked into his neck. Vannes gave him some makeup to cover them with, since Damen likes to leave them  _everywhere_. “I’ll ask,” he mutters, sinking into his chair.

* * *

Laurent is nervous. Beyond nervous. He wrings his hands again, trying not to think about what will happen at dinner. How everything could go wrong.

Auguste and their dad are talking farther down the couch, over the noise of the TV. Something about business or football, he isn’t really listening, and Hennike is in the kitchen finishing the desert.

When a knock comes to the door, his mom races out if the kitchen, an over-excited smile on her face. “Go open it!”

Laurent stands, his lip between his teeth, and heads to the door, feeling like he’s walking towards his death sentence. Lucky for him, you can’t see the front door from the living room, so he takes a moment to prepare himself.

Damen smiles at him when he opens the door, his motorcycle parked in the driveway. He has a bouquet of flowers in his hand. “For your mom. You said she likes calla lilies, right?”

Laurent nods and takes Damen’s hand to pull him in.

Damen frowns when Laurent doesn’t smile back, watching him close the door. “Is something wrong?”

Laurent’s chest feels tight, his throat burns, his eyes sting. He steps into Damen’s space, and Damen wraps his arms around him. “I’m scared.”

“…Oh,” Damen says, voice low. He cards his fingers into Laurent’s hair. “They don’t know.”

Laurent shakes his head.

Damen doesn’t say anything for a moment, then kisses Laurent’s head. “It’s okay to be scared, but you’re also really brave. And if nothing else, I’ll still be here for you.”

Laurent can’t help his smile. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, sweetheart.”

Laurent takes a breath and steps away. “Okay. Okay, I’m ready.”

Damen grins and takes Laurent’s hand.

When they walk into the living room, all conversation stops as everyone takes in Damen beside him. Laurent sees the surprise on their faces, and thinks that it could be going worse, maybe. “This is Damen. He moved into a house a couple streets over last year…We’ve been dating for eight months.”

“Hi,” Damen says, charming smile in place. “Nice to meet you.” He holds out the flowers to Hennike. “These are for you.”

She nods, eyes still wide, and takes the flowers. Her gaze shifts the them. “I’ll…go put these in a vase. Thank you.” And she leaves.

Laurent is starting to think this is as good as it will get, and that it’s only going to get worse.

Finally, Auguste and Aleron both stand, but Aleron walks into the kitchen without a word. Not that Laurent expected better. Laurent’s hand is probably crushing Damen’s right now.

Auguste walks up to them, eyes on Laurent. This is the reaction he’s been dreading the most.

Laurent’s breath catches in his throat. His cheeks flush with a terrible mix of embarrassment and shame, and he looks away.

“So,” Auguste says, and Laurent looks up to see him smirking at Damen. “ _You’re_  the one who’s been putting hickies on his neck.”

This time Damen is the one to blush. “Um…”

“Auguste!” Laurent snaps.

Auguste laughs as he walks into the kitchen. “Come on, guys! Dinners ready!” he calls back, amusement lacing his words.


	17. Surprise Strip

Auguste goes with Jord, Orlant, and Lazar to a strip club one night.

Auguste only agrees because Laurent has been spending his nights tutoring his friend, Nicaise, for their history final. He’s been coming in late, so Auguste has a few hours before he has to be back and making them dinner.

They go in and take a table.

Then horror upon horror, Laurent comes out on the stage in a skimpy outfit and gives a pole dance.

And Auguste’s best friend, Damianos, is putting bills into his fishnet stockings.

Auguste thinks he may be having a stroke. Jord might be too for that matter.

Lazar and Orlant are having a wonderful time.


End file.
